June 10, 2009 > Gallery displays a slice of life Gallery displays a slice of life By Mona Shah Sun Gallery begins a new exhibit, "Bay Area Collage," curated by guest artist Robert Magginetti from Tranquility Base and 10Ten Gallery highlighting the wide diversity of approaches to collage practiced by Bay Area artists. Magginetti points out, "Collage has been a big part of the Bay Area underground art scene for almost half a century. Collage artists such as Jess, Eric Satie, Winston Smith and Bruce Conner immediately come to mind. Today, Bay Area collage artists are better known than in the past, but are still not as well known as they should be." Bay Area Collage tries to remedy this situation by showcasing nine cutting edge Bay Area collage artists. Their work covers a wide range of techniques and subjects which, as with all good art, requires participation of the viewer. Meaning and narrative are often intentionally ambiguous and can only be achieved through the viewer's knowledge, experiences and imagination, often arriving at different interpretations of a particular collage. Indeed, this exploration of ambiguity is the goal of many collage artists. Collage artists include Gianfranco Paolozzi (text and photo based collage), Richard Stutting (digital graphic collages), Elizabeth Chavoor (photomontage with tissue paper), Robert Magginetti (symbolist photomontage), Rebecca Peters (photo collages inspired by children's stories), Terenia Offenbacher (mixed media abstract collage), Al Preciado (multimedia collages exploring gender issues), Stan Askew (mail art photo collages) and Darla McKenna (surrealistic collages). All of this might sound like serious business but this exhibit displays humor and grace as well as more serious aspects of collage art. Visit Bay Area Collage and find out for yourself. Bay Area Collage Through July 3 Wednesdays and Fridays 2nd and 4th Saturdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sun Gallery / Hayward Forum of the Arts 1015 E Street, Hayward (510) 581-4050 www.sungallery.org